Adrienne's postie story

[Keri]

Hi Adrienne,
So glad to hear from you! It's great that the nerve pain is gone. I think that the hearing / tinnitus will adjust and settle down with a bit of time.
I couldn't believe how little hair they shaved - that's great!
Most of all, I'm glad you're so upbeat and feeling happy and relieved with your good progress.
Keri

[GailN]

Your story is surely so encouraging to all who are W&W or preparing for surgery! I am now 3 1/2 weeks post-op and feeling pretty well except for headaches and head fullness which are both getting less as time goes on. The pics were great! Take care and continue to give yourself the gift of rest

[moe]

Awesome, Adrienne!
I knew you would rock it. There will be little speed bumps and hurdles in your road of the AN life, but nothing you can't handle after this.
Keep the positive thoughts and take each day nice and slow while you can, ya hear?
Maureen
~ Just realized what a typo I typed- ya HEAR?
Uh no, actually you don't.
Sorry bout that, welcome to the SSD club

[Adrienne]

~ Just realized what a typo I typed- ya HEAR?
Uh no, actually you don't.
Sorry bout that, welcome to the SSD club

Actually, I DO hear!!!  That's the most wonderful thing!  I HEAR!  Can't believe it, and don't know how long or if it will last, but I DO!  So happy!

Thanks for the notes everyone!  Still feeling pretty darn good.  Can't wait until the pressure, headaches, ringing and numbness get feeling better, but I know I have nothing to complain about, so I'll just sit quiet and enjoy what I have right at this very minute instead of rushing ahead.  Life is good!

[moe]

Yea, you can hear! I jumped to a conclusion there.
You had a nice size tumor there, so you are doing  great, and your good spirits will be contagious to all those who are expecting surgery soon.
Thanks Adrienne
Maureen

[Vivian B.]

Hi Adrienne,

I have been watching out for your post. I am so glad you are doing well. It will only get better from here on. By the way, your pictures are great.

Vivian.

[cecile k]

Hi Adrienne:

I also had my AN surgery at VGH by Dr. Durity (Dr. Akagami took over from him - I was Dr. Durity's last AN patient :-)!! So good to read that your surgery went so well! All the best.

Cecile
Chilliwack, BC

[catlover]

Hi Adrienne,
It's so fantastic that you actually hear! I'm so glad for you! For some reason I also wish I wake up in the morning and could hear with my right ear, but anyway I'll accept that it is like it is. I still consider myself to be a very lucky person. I came out of this surgery with very, very little issues. It is only the balance and the hearing and that's nothing in my opinion. Life is great! Tomorrow, it's time for summer vacation for all pupils in Sweden and it continues until 18th August and I will be with my class for an hour and then take a cup of coffee with my collegues. I'm so glad I can do this! I couldn't imagine pre-op that I would feel so good after only three weeks. I think I'm blessed!   

Hugs from Helene in Sweden 

[alicia]

Adrienne - so glad you are doing well.  I have been following you the whole time during my recovery.  You looked great in your photos.  Hopefully you felt a tad like you looked! 
I can actually feel my ear the past few days!  I was not sure it was mine at first )  Still feels weird to touch behind it.  How's your fullness/ringing?

[stoneaxe]

Wow...not sure how i missed this other than I haven't been on the forum as much the last couple of weeks....nobody mentioned how busy the weeks leading up to surgery are...

Amazing....hard to tell you had surgery...you look great. So happy for you that things went so well. You'll be back on the field before you know it.

[Adrienne]

Alicia-Thanks!  I read your update too,and I'm happy you've done so well, despite all the extra drama! LOL  Hope you continue to improve over the coming weeks. 

Helene-You sound so happy with your results too!  Glad everything went well for you!!

I have a lot of fullness still, but I can tell it is less so than the first couple of days after the surgery.  Feels like that ear is still 'plugged'.  The ringing is all day long.  Oddly, this isn't as bad as what I imagined all day ringing to be.  The ringing is new to me.  It's odd that even though it's there all the time, there are times I don't 'notice' it.  Never thought that would be possible.  I'm still hopeful that it will go away, but I'm not sure if that's naive or not (?).  It's been almost 3 weeks since the surgery and the ENT said that the ringing would definitely get better. Haven't noticed any improvement yet.....

The headaches are concerning me though.  I've had 2 1/2 days straight of headaches with no relief.  I'm just on Tylenol 3 right now, but it's not working (?).  I only have 3 more days of T3 left and then I'll need something else.  For those that have ongoing headaches, are you on prescription drugs or over the counter drugs?  Not sure if I should be going to my GP for a prescription or not...(?).  I don't have my follow up with the neurosurgeon for another 4 weeks, and I'll need something in the meantime!

[NancyMc]

nobody mentioned how busy the weeks leading up to surgery are

I'm sure you've been frantically cleaning like the rest of us pre-op, Bob.   

I was fortunate to have no headache issues post-op, but I noticed yesterday that my tinnitus seemed a little less annoying.  Of course, today it is back full-on.

[yardtick]

Adrienne,

A few of us on the forum take neurontin.  My family dr did not want to prescribe anything but T-3's.  All they did was upset my stomach something terrible.  I think you might need to see the ENT.

Wishing you luck, and I am so sorry you are suffering.
Anne Marie

[moe]

Adrienne,
Sorry to hear about the headaches that don't respond to the t3's. Out of curiosity, is it the same type of trigeminal pain  from before surgery, or is it different?
Hopefully you can get a handle on it.
Praying for relief. Otherwise, looking good! Glad the fullness is subsiding a bit, and the tinnitus isn't as noticeable at times.
Still give it lots of time.
Rest, rest, walk, rest, eat, etc.
Maureen

[kma]

Adrienne~

I had tons of bad headaches too after my surgery and I took all the pain meds.  I know it sounds a little corny, but I really felt like massage helped my headaches a TON!  First, I went to a massage therapist AT THE HOSPITAL ~ they are trained to deal with surgical patients and they know their stuff ~ not like your "normal" massage places.  They dealt with my head and neck and incision and it really worked.  Now, I do a little "massage" of my own at home.  My husband does my neck and shoulders and I do my head and incision.  I use vitamin E oil on my incision and it really helps loosen things up. 

Wishing you relief and sending all good thoughts your way.

~Kathy : )